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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28348536">Unexpected Comfort</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookowl2000/pseuds/bookowl2000'>bookowl2000</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Comfort, F/M, Insecurity, Let them be there for each other, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), This was meant to be fluffy but war angst came in, betaed we don’t die like Glenn, reassurance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:35:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,468</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28348536</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookowl2000/pseuds/bookowl2000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After more than five years of war, Felix and Annette meet at their class reunion, each sapped in different ways. Can they find the strength to push through, together?</p>
<p>This was originally written for Fluffcember Day 5, Reunited, but hopefully the (unintended) added angst will make the fluff worth it!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Unexpected Comfort</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic took me in many different directions, and refused to end properly for a month, but it was so worth working on and I really hope you all enjoy it! </p>
<p>Many, many thanks to Kearra for beta-ing this fic. I really appreciate all the time you gave, and your comments/advice/support were illuminating and helped make this fic so much better. Thanks so much &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Ethereal Moon, 1185</em>
</p>
<p>Felix watched as the remaining bandits ran away, his breathing still harsh and his body tense, ready to spring into action if needed. Even after the adrenaline faded away and victory was undebatable, Felix had never been able to relax after a fight easily.</p>
<p>In that regard, this battle was no different. </p>
<p>But this was a battle he had fought with <em>his class.</em></p>
<p>After five years of grueling war, it was surreal to be surrounded by his classmates again. Classmates who were now hardened yet still exuded their earnest, lively air from years ago. Except for the boar.</p>
<p>And while Felix had been difficult (it had not been easy for Sylvain and Ingrid to convince him that going to the reunion was not a hopeless cause), he couldn’t deny that he was glad he made the trip.</p>
<p>But where was…</p>
<p>“There you go, you’ll be good as new in no time,” a bright voice chirped.</p>
<p>Felix swiveled, the same quick reflexes that saved him countless times on the battlefield now responding to the voice that had haunted him for the past half decade.</p>
<p>For a moment, Felix remained still as he took in Annette’s effervescent presence, observing how she had changed—he had never seen her hair down before. It suited her, this older version of Annette whose smile hadn’t lessened in its radiance or its ability to cause his heart to flip in somersaults.</p>
<p>The sun was only just starting to rise, but to Felix it was as if the halo of light was originating around Annette herself. </p>
<p>A hand suddenly clapped on his shoulder, startling him out of his reverie. “You can go to her and say hi, you know,” Sylvain said.</p>
<p>Felix shrugged him off wordlessly, despite following his friend’s advice as he walked towards her. Ashe eyed his approach and scurried away with a grin that Felix hardly registered. Annette confusedly watched the archer go, her brows furrowed the same way they would when she’d read a complicated passage from a textbook.</p>
<p>Their world was so far removed from those library nights now.</p>
<p>But then her gaze flitted towards him when he was only a few steps away, stopping him in his tracks.</p>
<p>Bluebell eyes locked on him, the confusion in them melting away as they flashed with recognition.</p>
<p>“Felix!” she exclaimed, quickly closing the short distance between them. </p>
<p>She threw her arms around his neck. Felix froze, his hands hanging uselessly in the air. But slowly he returned the gesture, hesitantly resting his hands on her waist before pulling her closer, burying his face in her hair.</p>
<p>It was odd how easily she fit against him. But even more so, he was astonished by how small she was, how she was nearly buried by his coat. It juxtaposed with his memory of her—her larger than life presence and her songs that replayed incessantly throughout the years. How could her frame contain everything that made Annette?</p>
<p>Annette, whose presence alone made it seem like the Earth was sprouting back to life after a destitute winter. It only felt like seconds since he found her, yet he already felt lighter. Hope had always been an inconvenience he turned away, but with Annette in his arms he was now its reluctant companion. </p>
<p>How could she do that so easily? Take his weary, bitter self and vibrantly color his world?</p>
<p>It was clear then, no matter how often he tried to deny it, that he had missed Annette. </p>
<p>She stepped away, and Felix had to remind himself to stay alert, lest a new enemy appear.</p>
<p>“It’s so good to see you! I’ve missed everyone so much,” she gushed, eyes sparkling with happiness.</p>
<p>Felix managed a slight smile. A voice that annoyingly sounded like Sylvain’s urged him to answer. “It’s, uh, good to see you as well. Safe.”</p>
<p>Annette grinned. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m ready to fight and finally be of use!”</p>
<p>Felix was suddenly reminded of the fresh-faced recruits that eagerly answered the call to fight back in Fraldarius years ago. Their faces now—if they had survived—were haggard and desolate, for a stalemate that dragged on provided no foundation for morale. </p>
<p>He never wanted that to happen to Annette. </p>
<p>“You’ll have to stay safe if you want to continue fighting, though,” Felix managed to reply, ignoring the growing pit in his stomach.</p>
<p>Annette playfully rolled her eyes. “Of course! Besides, we did pretty well together, back in our Academy days, didn’t we?” </p>
<p>“We did,” Felix answered. </p>
<p>Sylvain and Ingrid bounded over to greet Annette, but Felix hardly paid attention as his thoughts whirred.</p>
<p>They could fight together again, and he would be more than the glorified sword he had been the past five years. Because now he would have a purpose, outside of survival and preservation of his homeland. A reason to fight that wasn’t purely based on finding a worthy enemy.</p>
<p>He would make sure they got out of this war alive, together.</p>
<p>Maybe by then he’d understand why his heart was still pounding, even though his thoughts were no longer on the battle.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>Lone Moon, 1185</em>
</p>
<p>Fire shot out from Annette’s palm, followed by piercing spikes of air. If it had been an enemy, they wouldn’t have stood a chance. Instead, a training dummy, scorched and hanging limp, was the target of her frustration.</p>
<p>Annette gritted her teeth, ignoring the trembling in her arms as she flung out more spells, the sounds they cut into the air disrupting the stillness of the night. </p>
<p>She couldn’t mess up again. She had to be faster. </p>
<p>A new section of the dummy was lit, the flames providing more light than the moon did.</p>
<p>
  <em>Faster.</em>
</p>
<p>A Cutting Gale extinguished the fire before it had the chance to spread.</p>
<p>
  <em>Faster.</em>
</p>
<p>Annette lifted her arms, trying to draw enough threads of magic from her reserves to throw an Excalibur.</p>
<p>“Annette?”</p>
<p>She was startled, but refused to turn towards who called to her, completing the spell and bathing the room in a flash of light.</p>
<p>“What are you doing at the training grounds so late?” The voice asked, closer this time, and Annette recognized it as Felix’s. </p>
<p>“I have to practice,” she replied shortly, weaving the glyph for her next spell.</p>
<p>A spell that she had to redirect at the last second to prevent blasting Felix across the room. Annette’s chest heaved, and she stared at him with wide eyes. He was stupid to plant himself in front of her, and even more so if he thought he could stop her.</p>
<p>“Move please, Felix. I don’t have time to waste.”</p>
<p>His brows furrowed in response. It brought her attention to the cut on his temple, and Annette wondered which of her scrapes and bruises he could see. </p>
<p>“We fought in a battle today. You need to rest.” </p>
<p>Annette felt her panic rise. He couldn’t stop her, he had to <em>move. </em></p>
<p>“I can’t,” she replied, her words coming out weaker than she wanted. She felt her chin wobble, stifling emotion swelling in her throat. </p>
<p>Felix’s frown deepened in response, concern evident in his gaze. “You have to. Your reserves aren’t—“</p>
<p>“No Felix, you don’t get it. If I don’t improve my casting speed— If I can’t prevent another— The reinforcements— My battalion—“ Her hands moved wildly as she spoke, the motions as uncoordinated as her thoughts felt. </p>
<p>“Annette.”</p>
<p>She turned away from him. “They die, Felix. They don’t come back, there’s no turning back time.”</p>
<p>“Annette.”</p>
<p>Tears pooled in her eyes, and she could no longer see the ground in front of her clearly. </p>
<p>“It’s my fault. It’s always my fault. I’m not good enough, not—”</p>
<p>A pair of arms engulfed her, held her close, and her words died in her throat. Her initial instinct to push him away crumbled under the weight of her sorrow. She choked on her sobs, burying her face into Felix’s chest. Only then did she realize how heavy her arms felt, how exhausted she was.</p>
<p>She wanted to remain hidden in his embrace, shielded from the atrocities that suffocated her in her dreams.</p>
<p>“You’re shivering,” Felix noted, his voice far more tender than she had ever heard it before. His fingers gently stroked her arm, the slight movement grounding her.</p>
<p>She didn’t know how long it took, but Annette’s shuddering breaths eventually evened out, the torrent of tears subsiding into trickling tracks. She tried to focus on Felix’s warmth, taking comfort in his secure hold. </p>
<p>“You know, I would’ve been dead ten times over without you fighting by my side,” Felix said. His tone was matter of fact, as if they were discussing battle formations.</p>
<p>Surprised, Annette leaned back. “You forget it only takes one misstep to ruin everything. Like today,” she said, her voice shaky as memories of the morning bombarded her. </p>
<p>What if the next time she failed meant losing Felix?</p>
<p>“You didn’t know they’d send so many reinforcements,” Felix insisted. “Hell, the Professor didn’t know. No one knew of the hidden passage. You can’t punish yourself for not being able to foresee the unpredictable chaos of the battlefield.”</p>
<p>“But if I could cast more spells in less time, then maybe—”</p>
<p>“Then nothing. Your entire battalion was with you, if they couldn’t change the tide, then how could you have done it alone?”</p>
<p>Annette snorted humorlessly. Felix was notorious for his stubborn insistence back in their Academy days for refusing to lead a battalion, much less accept that forging ahead alone during battle was rarely a sound idea. Yet here he was telling her what everyone had always told him—the role reversal felt laughably ridiculous.</p>
<p>The look she gave him was one of clear disbelief. “Says you.”</p>
<p>She had spoken flippantly, but Felix replied to her seriously, his tone brokering no room for disagreement.</p>
<p>“Says me.” </p>
<p>Her feelings of inadequacy threatened to overwhelm her, but could his belief in her be enough to assuage her worries? Annette knew Felix would never falsely reassure her. If he thought she had a weak area, he’d suggest training or instruction to fix it.</p>
<p>She was pulled out of her thoughts by the contemplative look that overtook Felix’s features. </p>
<p>“You’re forgetting something,” he said.</p>
<p>“I am?” </p>
<p>“If you had used up all your spells with the reinforcements, you wouldn’t have saved me.” </p>
<p>Annette gasped, remembering the wound on his arm. A dark mage had blindsided Felix—who had been preoccupied with two other opponents—with a nasty spell. Annette’s heart dropped as she recalled the visceral fear that overpowered her in that moment, before she had rained down a powerful Abraxas. Lysithea would have been proud. </p>
<p>“How is your arm?” she asked, trying to move back to inspect it, but she couldn’t with how Felix’s grip tightened.</p>
<p>“It’s around you. What do you think?”</p>
<p>Annette giggled, a blush rising on her face. Felix was... joking? She peered up at him, marveling at how one corner of his mouth lifted. </p>
<p>Her chest warmed. Felix must have been just as tired as she was, yet he was here, making sure she was okay. </p>
<p>How had he calmed her down so well? Her smile was weak, but it was his steady presence that produced it. How would she be right now if he hadn’t come?</p>
<p>“Thank you, Felix,” she said, beaming in his direction. </p>
<p>“Uh, it was nothing,” Felix mumbled </p>
<p>He averted his gaze and stepped back, rubbing the back of his neck. As she mourned the loss of his warmth, Annette realized the swordsman meant far more to her than she could have imagined feeling. Dorothea had told her once that someone she could depend on was more important than someone who made her heart race.</p>
<p>But what if Felix was both? </p>
<p>Had she spent the past five years denying how much she missed him, because the alternative—missing someone she didn’t know she’d see again—was more painful?</p>
<p>“You know, I was worried you wouldn’t come,” she revealed.</p>
<p>“Here?” He asked, confused.</p>
<p>“No, the reunion. I wanted to fight with our class again, but you…” she trailed off, unsure what confession her words were trying to shape.</p>
<p>Hesitation caused her to nervously tug at her fingers, eyes resolutely set on them. “All I heard for five years was rumors about your victories and injuries, with no reassurance of your safety. If you hadn’t come... if you hadn’t believed in us, I don’t know what I’d have done.”</p>
<p>He grabbed her hand, causing sparks to run up her arm. “I’m here. Whenever you need me, I’m here.” </p>
<p>The sincerity behind his statement made her want to cry for a different reason. It was crystal clear now what her heart had realized. She brought his hand closer to her chest, clasping it between both of her own.</p>
<p>“I- I do need you. On the battlefield. In the library. Asking about my songs or debating with me in war councils.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Don’t get hurt.”</p>
<p>Felix stepped closer, his free hand gently brushing a tear away. </p>
<p>“I don’t plan on foolishly risking my life. I plan to live. To protect what I care about.” </p>
<p>Annette’s breath hitched when his thumb ran across her jaw, and he said, “You can’t foolishly risk your life with so much at stake. And you can’t push yourself too hard.”</p>
<p>“I won’t,” she replied solemnly.</p>
<p>She recognized now how wrong she had been, pushing herself past her limits. </p>
<p>When Annette had left Dominic, she vowed to do whatever it took to help ensure victory, no matter the cost. But Felix, when her optimism and fortitude crumbled, prevented her from shattering. </p>
<p>And with every fiber of her being, she knew she wanted to be a pillar of support for him, too.</p>
<p>“We’re in this together,” she said with quiet conviction.</p>
<p>“We are,” Felix replied, his smile slight. “You did once say we make a good team, didn’t you?” </p>
<p>The professor may have paired them long ago for their match of close and ranged combat, but now their relationship had deepened into something stronger. She knew it from his softened edges, the mere fact he was here.</p>
<p>“The best,” Annette enthused, hope blooming in her chest.</p>
<p>“Of course,” Felix replied matter-of-factly, placing a light hand on her elbow to lead her out of the grounds. “Now I think we both need to get some rest.”</p>
<p>Annette nodded. “Then tomorrow will come, full of potential.”</p>
<p>“If you still want to train, I could always practice dodging your spells,” Felix replied.</p>
<p>Annette shot him an exasperated smile, bellied by the warmth spreading in her chest. </p>
<p>Whatever her future held, she heard the silent reassurance that he wanted to be by her side.</p>
<p>And when she grabbed his hand, it was to provide her own vow in return.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yes, this fic exists because I wanted them to hug twice, lol. <s>(but then I made myself sad thinking about when their third hug would be)</s></p>
<p>Anywhos, thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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